April 23, 1791– June 1, 1868 Democratic Term: March 4, 1857 – March 4, 1861 Vice President: John Cabell Breckinridge
Regarded as one of the worst presidents in history, James Buchanan quickly proved to the nation that he was not up to the job of presidency. Being more passive by nature, his lack of intervention in the south led to succession from the union with him standing by and watching which lead to the opening the doors to Civil War. His little involvement is reason enough for his presidency to receive a D+.
Buchanan’s main goal during his presidency was more focused around foreign affairs than anything else. One of his biggest concerns was smoothing out the impression the U.S had on other foreign nations, and to make the influence of the U.S stronger than it already was. Using the navy to do so, he was partially successful, this being one of the only times during his presidency you could say so. However, with him being distracted with outside affairs, another one being the annexation of Cuba, his time spent with these concerns truly did not portray to the needs of the country at the time. Wasting away with smaller and less important affairs, Buchanan sacrificed the opportunity to help ease sectionalism, which consequently, would’ve been the most important thing on his “To Do” list as president.
Most people would consider it fortunate for Buchanan to have most of his congress Democratic, seeing as he was a Democrat as well. However, this did not work in Buchanan’s favor in the least, his views were confusing and muffled, which resulted in him having a poor relationship with congress. In a sense, Buchanan made minimal efforts to attempt to please the North and the South’s requests while dealing with congress, sadly though he was completely unsuccessful in doing so. There was no major bills that came through congress during his time as well, he did end up in vetoing 7, but that is really the only historical mark he made while in office.
The most positive effect Buchanan made during his presidency is hands-down his dealings with foreign affairs. Britain tirelessly had their nose in Central America’s business and Buchanan’s decision making was successful at keeping them at bay. Sending strong messages to them, warning of the consequences if they attempted to expand into the America’s, he also was able to use the Navy as reinforcement to his point. Although this shouldn’t have been what he focused his time on, the results were positive and he did keep the British from clashing with America and leading into yet another war, one which the U.S most likely wouldn’t have been able to handle. So in a sense, he helped to keep the U.S away from that catastrophe.
The most negative decision made while it was Buchanan’s presidency, was the lack of decision made, time and time again regarding the southern states. Attempting to keep the votes of proslavery southerner’s, Buchanan supported the admittance of Kansas as a slave state with the Lecompton Constitution, disregarding the opposing cries of many people currently living in that territory. In turn, loosing not only their support, but the support of the north as well. This was already dwindling, and then cleanly severed when the verdict of the Dred Scott case came about. Upsetting the north by officially declaring slaves as property, and re-confirming the ideas that were already in the south’s mind, Buchanan made these decisions pressured and uncertain. Personally, he felt no need to support slavery, but felt that it was within constitutional rights. Disregarding at least half of the people’s wants, he clearly made the wrong decisions. Taking no time to think about how the fold between the north and the south would continue to bend with his choices, Buchanan then found himself in over his head with the consequences.
Furthermore, his most influential decision for the future of the country was also his lack of decision in regards to the south. His lack of action directly led to the separation of the Union and the beginning of the Civil War. Making no move to attempt to stop the succession of the southern states, he actually went around and helped to increase the sectionalism in the country with his poor decision making skills. Had he attempted to stop the succession, regardless of whether or not it worked, he would’ve been looked back upon as at least making an attempt. However, that’s not the case and Buchanan’s passive approach once again, backfired and created far more problems than it solved. This being the reason that Buchanan can rightfully be looked upon as a strong cause of the Civil War, which had a very lasting impression on the country.
In conclusion, the country would have been better out with Buchanan as president. His most positive remarks being about his dealings with foreign affairs really are not enough to counter-balance all the negativity his presidency brought about. Therefore, it is safe to say that he deserved his grade of a D+ for his works while he was in office.
Degregorio, William A.. The Complete Book of U.S. Presidents, Seventh Edition (Complete Book of Us Presidents). 7 ed. Fort Lee: Barricade Books, 2009. Print.
"Presidential Vetoes, 1789–2008 — Infoplease.com." Infoplease: Encyclopedia, Almanac, Atlas, Biographies, Dictionary, Thesaurus. Free online reference, research & homework help. — Infoplease.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Mar. 2010. http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0801767.htp Top of FormBottom of Form
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James Buchanan
April 23, 1791– June 1, 1868
Democratic
Term: March 4, 1857 – March 4, 1861
Vice President: John Cabell Breckinridge
Regarded as one of the worst presidents in history, James Buchanan quickly proved to the nation that he was not up to the job of presidency. Being more passive by nature, his lack of intervention in the south led to succession from the union with him standing by and watching which lead to the opening the doors to Civil War. His little involvement is reason enough for his presidency to receive a D+.
Buchanan’s main goal during his presidency was more focused around foreign affairs than anything else. One of his biggest concerns was smoothing out the impression the U.S had on other foreign nations, and to make the influence of the U.S stronger than it already was. Using the navy to do so, he was partially successful, this being one of the only times during his presidency you could say so. However, with him being distracted with outside affairs, another one being the annexation of Cuba, his time spent with these concerns truly did not portray to the needs of the country at the time. Wasting away with smaller and less important affairs, Buchanan sacrificed the opportunity to help ease sectionalism, which consequently, would’ve been the most important thing on his “To Do” list as president.
Most people would consider it fortunate for Buchanan to have most of his congress Democratic, seeing as he was a Democrat as well. However, this did not work in Buchanan’s favor in the least, his views were confusing and muffled, which resulted in him having a poor relationship with congress. In a sense, Buchanan made minimal efforts to attempt to please the North and the South’s requests while dealing with congress, sadly though he was completely unsuccessful in doing so. There was no major bills that came through congress during his time as well, he did end up in vetoing 7, but that is really the only historical mark he made while in office.
The most positive effect Buchanan made during his presidency is hands-down his dealings with foreign affairs. Britain tirelessly had their nose in Central America’s business and Buchanan’s decision making was successful at keeping them at bay. Sending strong messages to them, warning of the consequences if they attempted to expand into the America’s, he also was able to use the Navy as reinforcement to his point. Although this shouldn’t have been what he focused his time on, the results were positive and he did keep the British from clashing with America and leading into yet another war, one which the U.S most likely wouldn’t have been able to handle. So in a sense, he helped to keep the U.S away from that catastrophe.
The most negative decision made while it was Buchanan’s presidency, was the lack of decision made, time and time again regarding the southern states. Attempting to keep the votes of proslavery southerner’s, Buchanan supported the admittance of Kansas as a slave state with the Lecompton Constitution, disregarding the opposing cries of many people currently living in that territory. In turn, loosing not only their support, but the support of the north as well. This was already dwindling, and then cleanly severed when the verdict of the Dred Scott case came about. Upsetting the north by officially declaring slaves as property, and re-confirming the ideas that were already in the south’s mind, Buchanan made these decisions pressured and uncertain. Personally, he felt no need to support slavery, but felt that it was within constitutional rights. Disregarding at least half of the people’s wants, he clearly made the wrong decisions. Taking no time to think about how the fold between the north and the south would continue to bend with his choices, Buchanan then found himself in over his head with the consequences.
Furthermore, his most influential decision for the future of the country was also his lack of decision in regards to the south. His lack of action directly led to the separation of the Union and the beginning of the Civil War. Making no move to attempt to stop the succession of the southern states, he actually went around and helped to increase the sectionalism in the country with his poor decision making skills. Had he attempted to stop the succession, regardless of whether or not it worked, he would’ve been looked back upon as at least making an attempt. However, that’s not the case and Buchanan’s passive approach once again, backfired and created far more problems than it solved. This being the reason that Buchanan can rightfully be looked upon as a strong cause of the Civil War, which had a very lasting impression on the country.
In conclusion, the country would have been better out with Buchanan as president. His most positive remarks being about his dealings with foreign affairs really are not enough to counter-balance all the negativity his presidency brought about. Therefore, it is safe to say that he deserved his grade of a D+ for his works while he was in office.
Works Cited
"American President: James Buchanan." Miller Center of Public Affairs. 2010. University of Virginia. 18 Mar. 2010 http://millercenter.org/academic/americanpresident/buchanan.
Degregorio, William A.. The Complete Book of U.S. Presidents, Seventh Edition (Complete Book of Us Presidents). 7 ed. Fort Lee: Barricade Books, 2009. Print.
"Presidential Vetoes, 1789–2008 — Infoplease.com." Infoplease: Encyclopedia, Almanac, Atlas, Biographies, Dictionary, Thesaurus. Free online reference, research & homework help. — Infoplease.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Mar. 2010. http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0801767.htp
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